


Burn it to the Ground

by falsechaos



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh!
Genre: Action/Adventure, Gen, Humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-08-16
Updated: 2012-08-16
Packaged: 2017-11-12 06:43:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 943
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/487878
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/falsechaos/pseuds/falsechaos
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kaiba needs a favor. Tristan needs a vacation.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Burn it to the Ground

Tristan's crisp new degree said he was supposed to be a geologist, not Indiana fucking Jones.

"Just for the record, I blame you."

"I'll make certain it's duly noted in the eulogy," was Kaiba's only cool reply.

Tristan snorted and got back to work, diligently copying down every scratch and dent and fracture in the slab of rock before him that might be another one of those damned glyphs. "Look, all I'm saying is that you need some sort of linguist down here. I can tell you where the rock came from and what's it made out of, but I can't tell you what's written on it." He glared at one crooked squiggle that curved around a corner and peaked under the bottom of the slab. "Or if anything's written on here at all."

"You were the best I could on short notice," Kaiba said. Still cool and scathing at the same time, but now it sounded slightly hissed through clenched teeth.

"You mean I'm the only one that wouldn't laugh his ass off no matter how much money you waved around." Tristan turned around, moving from a rough crouch to simply sitting on the rough gravel ground, long legs splayed in front of him. "And even now, you _still_ can't stand the thought of people laughing at you behind your back."

"Are you going to waste time psychoanalyzing me, or deciphering our only clue out of here?" Kaiba's arms were crossed over his chest, blue eyes glacial and dark. "Or are you talking because that's the only thing you can do right now?"

Tristan shrugged. "I already told you, I can't read any of this writing or even tell you if it _is_ writing." His turn to glare now, gaze clashing hot with Kaiba's cold. "I took the money and the job, but it's your fault we're down here."

"You knew full well what this entailed and you signed the disclosure, so do not dare to--"

"It was tomb, Kaiba! When have _any_ of us had good luck just wandering around into tombs!" Tristan pushed off the floor and surged to his feet, stomping over to Kaiba. "It was a tomb with duel monsters carved into the walls and when has that _ever_ been a good reason to go running into tombs!" He only had a centimeter or so over Kaiba, but he used every millimeter of it to glare down at the other man. "I signed that stupid disclosure and agreement to help you _find_ the place, not to run in after you and drag you out!"

He was close enough to feel the heat of Kaiba's breath on his face, close enough to see the pulse throbbing beneath the pale skin of Kaiba's throat. The chamber was quiet save for the slight rasping of their breaths. "Anybody else would have just taken the money and laughed behind your back and done a half-assed job and stayed in the helicopter while you came down here and they would have left you down here to die when you didn't come back out." Tristan's voice was tight and hoarse and he didn't remember exactly when he had reached out to grab Kaiba's shirt, fists clenched into the rough material.

That intense gaze was pinned on him now, every ounce of Kaiba's focus narrowed down to nothing but Tristan. His eyes narrowed and the corner of his mouth twitched his thin lips into a sublime smirk. "The running after me bit wasn't part of the original agreement, either."

"Asshole."

"Neither was name calling."

Tristan shoved him away and took a step back himself as through Kaiba's cold sarcasm might be contagious. He raked a hand through his hair. "Fine. So we're both idiots, but I'm still a smarter idiot than you for not being the first one to go rushing in."

Kaiba quirked an eyebrow at that, but said nothing.

It was as close an admission to guilt as he would make, and Tristan decided that would have to do in place of an apology. For now. He settled back on his haunches in front of the stone slab, pen plucked from behind his ear and now clutched in his teeth. Sketchpad from his back pocket. More symbols and glyphs and random scratches scribbled down.

"They've caught up with us!"

Tristan barely had time to look up before Kaiba grabbed him under the arm and hauled him to his feet. "Shit!"

They were tall and dry and their sharp joints cracked and whispered dust into the air every time they moved. Lungs dried paperthin by time and heat hissed and wheezed. Ancient syllables, dead forgotten words, clattered past their naked teeth. Tristan didn't know what they were saying, but the ringing cry of their swords scraping against the chamber walls and the small tablets glowing and writhing with summoned monsters all translated very clear into a naked challenge. The ancient warriors of the tomb wouldn't let them past without another victory.

Kaiba hissed tight and frustrated through his teeth. "My deck is still sealed." Eldritch lines of light blazed in the presence of the warriors now, swirling tight and thick around Kaiba's deck and Tristan thought he could hear the distant roar of dragons in Kaiba's voice. "There's no one left for them to challenge."

"Aw, shit." Tristan swallowed hard. "Shit. I hate doing this."

"What?"

The card flicked fast and crisp into Tristan's hand, slipping from pack to palm as neat as any blackjack dealer could ever hope for. "Thestalos the Firestorm Monarch! I summon you! Burn them into the ground!"

The look on Kaiba's face almost made the entire trip worth it.


End file.
